IN FOCUS – SPECIAL BOOK SERIES BOOK – SPECIAL IN FOCUS IN FOCUS – SPECIAL BOOK SERIES BOOK – SPECIAL FOCUS IN IN FOCUS – SPECIAL BOOK SERIES SPECIAL BOOK FOCUS – IN WATER IN HIMALAYAN TOWNS Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance Governance forLessons Water Adaptive Towns: Himalayan in Water Editors: Anjal Prakash and David Molden Increasing urbanization and changing climate are two critical stressors that are adversely affecting the biophysical environment of urban areas in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. The book discusses various choices and options – from demand management to supply enhancement, understanding ecological footprints of towns to managing water at a bioregional scale. In doing so, it is vital to address issues of equity and empower local institutions in managing water. The focus for the future must be on building urban resilience by strengthening the adaptive capacities of affected communities while also understanding the limits to adaptation. In Focus – a book series that showcases the latest accomplishments in water research. Each book focuses on a specialist area with papers from top experts in the field. It aims to be a vehicle for in-depth understanding and inspire further conversations in the sector. WATER IN HIMALAYAN TOWNS Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance ISBN: 9781789061895 (paperback) ISBN: 9781789061901 (eBook) ISBN: 9781789061918 (ePUB) Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 HimalayanTowns-Cover.indd All Pages 15/07/2020 16:51:16 Water in Himalayan Towns: Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 In Focus – Special Book Series Water in Himalayan Towns: Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance Editors Anjal Prakash and David Molden Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Published by IWA Publishing Alliance House 12 Caxton Street London SW1H 0QS, UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 7654 5500 Fax: +44 (0)20 7654 5555 Email: [email protected] Web: www.iwapublishing.com First published 2020 © 2020 IWA Publishing Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1998), no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, or, in the case of photographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licenses issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of licenses issued by the appropriate reproduction rights organization outside the UK. 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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 9781789061895 (paperback) ISBN: 9781789061901 (eBook) Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Contents Editorial: Mapping challenges for adaptive water management in Himalayan towns Anjal Prakash and David Molden . ........................................................................... 1 Urbanisation and water insecurity in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Insights from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan Sreoshi Singh, S. M. Tanvir Hassan, Masooma Hassan and Neha Bharti ............................................. 9 Urban water resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya: issues, challenges and way forward Vishal Singh and Anvita Pandey . .......................................................................... 33 Water availability, consumption and sufficiency in Himalayan towns: a case of Murree and Havellian towns from Indus River Basin, Pakistan Zeeshan Tahir Virk, Bilal Khalid, Abid Hussain, Bashir Ahmad, Salaar Saeed Dogar, Nelufar Raza and Bilal Iqbal . ...... 46 Dynamics of urban water supply management of two Himalayan towns in India Neha Bharti, Neha Khandekar, Prateek Sengupta, Suruchi Bhadwal and Ishaan Kochhar . ............................. 65 Perform or wither: role of water users’ associations in municipalities of Nepal Sreoshi Singh, Krity Shrestha, Menaka Hamal and Anjal Prakash . ................................................ 90 Water management systems of two towns in the Eastern Himalaya: case studies of Singtam in Sikkim and Kalimpong in West Bengal states of India Ghanashyam Sharma, Chhayavani Namchu, Kalsang Nyima, Mahindra Luitel, Sreoshi Singh and Chanda Gurung Goodrich . ............................................................................. 107 The pain of water: a household perspective of water insecurity and inequity in the Kathmandu Valley Olivia C. Molden, Anoj Khanal and Nita Pradhan . .......................................................... 130 Conundrum or paradox: deconstructing the spurious case of water scarcity in the Himalayan Region through an institutional economics narrative Rinan Shah and Shrinivas Badiger ......................................................................... 146 Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 vi Water in Himalayan Towns: Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance Adapting to urban flooding: a case of two cities in South Asia Ismat Ara Pervin, Sheikh Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, Mani Nepal, Abdul Kalam Enamul Haque, Humayun Karim and Ganesh Dhakal . .................................................................... 162 Equity impacts of informal private water markets: case of Kathmandu Valley Aditi Raina, Yogendra Gurung and Bhim Suwal . ............................................................. 189 Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Editorial Mapping challenges for adaptive water management in Himalayan towns Anjal Prakasha,* and David Moldenb aBharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] bInternational Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal 1. Introduction The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is characterized by complex topography, climate, hydrology, and hydrogeology. Each of these factors plays an important role in determining the availability of water for people living in the Himalayas (Scott et al., 2019). These physical features are also a constraint to rapid urbanization (Mukherji et al., 2018). Only 3% of the total HKH population live in larger cities and 8% in smaller towns (Basyal & Khanal, 2001). However, urbanization has increased in recent years with people from rural areas flocking to nearby urban centres in search of employment and other economic opportunities (Bajracharya et al., 2019). As a result, the share of urban population is increasing in the region, while that of the rural population is declining. Projections show that by 2050, more than 50% of the population in HKH countries will live in cities (UNDESA, 2014). The unique geophysical situation of mountain cities and towns requires a special approach when conceptualizing water management. Moreover, rapid urbanization has led to new challenges that require a different perspective, a mountain perspective if they are to be solved. Unplanned urbanization is causing significant changes in land use and land cover and reducing the recharge areas of springs (Jeelani et al., 2017; Rani et al., 2018; Scott et al., 2019; Thakur et al., 2019). Climate-induced changes in the physical environment have resulted in increased rainfall variability and heat stress. Extreme rainfall events are leading to more landslides, while an increase in average temp- eratures has caused glacier melt and subsequent changes in hydrological regimes in the region (Xu et al., 2009). These critical stressors – climatic and non-climatic – are adversely affecting the socio-ecology of This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/). doi: 10.2166/wp.2020.000 © 2020 The Authors Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/713854/wio9781789061901.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 2 Water in Himalayan Towns: Lessons for Adaptive Water Governance urban agglomerations in the HKH. The encroachment or degradation of natural water bodies and the dis- appearance of traditional water sources, such as springs, are evident (Sharma et al., 2016). Most towns in the HKH meet their water needs